Cat colony desexing operation under way on Matakana Island

Three kittens sleeping after being desexed. Photo / Supplied

A colony of cats on Matakana Island will now stop growing after a successful desexing mission led by a Bay of Plenty animal rescue.

A 75-year-old man living on the island has been caring for the colony for the past few years - using money out of his own pocket to feed them.

Rescue, Revive, Rehome project manager and board member Liz Proudlock said "a good portion" of 25 cats were desexed on Wednesday inside a school classroom at the island's school. A small number of these were euthanised due to being "really really sick".

Proudluck said the "whole day event" took a lot of organisation and she considered herself lucky to have an experienced group to ensure it all ran smoothly.

There were 12 people involved including animal rescue volunteers, a vet team and family members, she said.

Dr David Barrowman on the day of the desexing operation. Photo / Supplied

"The community really did come to the fore which was incredible," she said.

"We have got an elderly gentleman who is very relieved. We can go away and just feel that we made a difference."

Some of the felines would soon be heading to foster homes, while others had already been adopted. However, a number were still up for adoption.

"These are very friendly cats. They definitely are cats that with time and effort, will make a great family pet."

Proudlock said the rescue was now fundraising for the second phase of the project which would involve subsidised desexing of all felines on Matakana Island.

"We will hopefully have most, if not all, felines desexed. Then we haven't got that population growth over there."

This was needed due to the difficulty associated with taking animals over to the mainland for the procedure, she said.

The colony of cats. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua's Dr David Barrowman, co-owner of Barrowman Goodman Vets, offered to help with the project.

He said it was "hugely important" not only for the elderly man caring for the felines - but also for the wildlife on the island.

He said the growing colony was a "significant problem" and needed to be addressed.

Barrowman said the team worked at a "very reduced rate" to cover costs.

"We heard the call - and thought look maybe we can help. So we do like to think we helped contribute to the welfare work. But it would be fibbing to say we did it for free."

He said the elderly man had been doing a "fantastic job" caring for the felines but the situation had got "totally out of control" because they were not desexed.

"It's just one of those situations that require thinking outside the box - and being willing to put yourself out a wee bit. Logistically it is a really challenging place to go because it's an island."

He said it would not have been fair to take all the animals to a clinic on the mainland - so the team made use of a classroom at Te Kura o Te Moutere o Matakana.

"We did our very best to make it as sterile and hospital-like as we could - it was definitely a field operation."

Barrowman praised the work done by Rescue, Revive, Rehome to co-ordinate the mission and volunteers who helped catch the cats for desexing.

"The colony will no longer be breeding."

The man's daughter-in-law, who asked they not be named, was tasked with putting the animals in cages on the day. She said it was literally "like herding cats".

"It went much better than we anticipated considering all the moving pieces of the puzzle."

The family - including the elderly man - felt "overwhelmed by all of the kindness" of volunteers and those who had donated.

"Taking words straight out of my father-in-law's mouth - he just felt relieved, full of gratitude to the rescue volunteers and vets that made their way over to the island," she said.

"He is not getting any younger - and they [cats] can be very demanding."

She said now the felines would soon be rehomed he could start to "look forward to the future" and repair damage that had been caused by caring for so many cats.

Department of Conservation Tauranga declined to comment further on the matter, referring the Bay of Plenty Times to a statement it released in May.

In it, Department of Conservation Tauranga operations manager Jeff Milham said it had recently been made aware of an individual keeping cats on Matakana Island.

He said the island itself was not public conservation land and this was "essentially an urban matter".

He said New Zealand dotterel were on the island but were "well away" from the community settlement.

The endangered species' main predators were feral cats and stoats, and summer trapping was undertaken by locals to help protect the birds.